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Jerry Falwell Jr delivers 'slurred' apology for post with unbuttoned pants, says 'it was just in good fun'

Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr was slammed on social media for his post showing him with his arm around a woman with his pants unzipped

Liberty University President and Trump supporter, Jerry Falwell Jr. issued an apology on Wednesday, August 5 for posting an inappropriate picture. 

He had shared a photo of him with his pants unzipped and his arms around a woman. The picture had been posted and later deleted from his Instagram on Tuesday, August 4, Daily Mail reports. 

The picture had sparked a lot of controversy due to the strict code of conduct for Liberty University students that requires them to dress with 'appropriateness' and 'modesty'. In the picture, Falwell Jr. was seen with his arm around the woman whose shorts seem to be unbuttoned as well. Falwell Jr. is also in unzipped pants that show his underwear. He had captioned the image, "More vacation shots. Lots of good friends visited us on the yacht."

"I promise that's just black water in my glass. It was a prop only," he had added. 

While speaking to Morninline on WLNI 1059, in Lynchburg, Virginia on August 5 he had said that the woman was his wife's assistant and that he's 'gonna try to be a good boy from here on out'. 

"You know it was weird, because she was, she's pregnant, she couldn't get her pants up, and I was, trying to like — my, I had on a pair of jeans I haven't worn in a long time so I couldn't get mine zipped either," he had said. "And so I just put my belly — I just put my belly out like hers," he shared as he called his wife's assistant 'a sweetheart'. As reported by Politico, the woman was identified as Kathleen Stone. 

Stone's Facebook page lists her Liberty University as her place of work. Falwell Jr had also said, "Whatever. It was a costume party on a — we were on vacation. And, anyway, long story short it was just in good fun. That's it."

Falwell Jr has also been accused of being drunk while calling into the radio show to explain his inappropriate Instagram post. "Here is the audio of a very drunk Jerry Falwell, Jr. calling into a *morning* radio show to explain (unintentionally) why he looked like a drunk, unzipped mess on his yacht. He had posted this photo on Instagram, which would have gotten a student kicked out of his own @LibertyU" posted a listener. Another user commented on the audio clip of Falwell Jr's call and said, "My husband and just listened to that radio interview with Jerry Falwell Jr where he explained his unforgettable picture. Y’all. What WAS that? I’m not joking. Was he drunk? It was bizarre 2.0." 

Another said: "Jerry Falwell Jr. sure sounded drunk Wednesday morning when he came up with a rambling, bizarre explanation for an Instagram photo of himself and a young woman, not his wife, each with their pants unzipped and folded down and their shirts pulled up." Jesus too wasn't left out of the equation as a viewer tweeted: "@JerryFalwellJr so when did it become, even in good fun, acceptable for a religious leader to make any inference of drunk sexual conduct? Furthermore how do you think Jesus would feel about a preacher having a yacht to begin with?"

Falwell Jr removed the post which had a series of pictures from the vacation which seemed to have been taken on a yacht. He was slammed for the picture by both liberals and conservatives especially given that the university enforces a strict code of conduct for its students. 

The University had been founded by Falwell's father and bans students are banned from having any sexual relations outside of 'biblically ordained' marriage. They are also not allowed to engage with any social media that contain lewd lyrics or sexual content. The dress code of the University states, "Cleanliness, neatness, appropriateness, and modesty are the general guiding factors with regard to dress." 

Falwell Jr. was slammed for the pictures with Meghan McCain tweeting, "How is this Jerry Falwell Jr. photo even real? Also if you're running the largest Christian university in America maybe don't put photos of yourself on social media with your pants undone on a yacht - with random women in bad wigs. So gross, so hypocritical."

Bette Midler wrote, "Help! I tried to look anywhere not-alarming in this Jerry Falwell Jr. photo and I sprained my eyeballs! People are coming up with all kinds of kooky theories about this pic, but I'll just go ahead & say it. That is the best Peg Bundy impersonator I've ever seen!" 

S.E. Cupp also shared, "There were already so many good reasons not to entrust your kids to Jerry Falwell Jr's learning institution. The unzipped pants yacht photo - of the school's PRESIDENT - is sadly the least of them."